Now comes the easy part for American Pharoah -- the Preakness Stakes.
At least that's the way Bob Baffert sizes up the next race on the Triple Crown trail.
The Hall of Fame trainer is 3-0 when his Kentucky Derby winner runs in the Preakness, and his fourth Derby winner American Pharoah should be the heavy favorite for next Saturday's race.
"To me, the Preakness is the easiest of the three legs," Baffert said this week, a few days after American Pharoah's hard-fought, 1-length Derby victory over Firing Line. "The Derby is the hardest. Once you get through there, you know your horses are in top form. It's a two-week turnaround. It's just a matter of getting there."
And winning there.
Baffert's Derby-Preakness winners are Silver Charm in 1997, Real Quiet in 1998 and War Emblem in 2002. He owns two other Preakness wins -- Point Given in 2001 and Lookin At Lucky in 2010. Both were beaten Derby favorites.
The Belmont Stakes three weeks after the Preakness? Well, that's another story: Baffert is 0 for 3 in attempts to end a Triple Crown drought that began after Affirmed swept the Derby, Preakness and Belmont in 1978.
"The Belmont," he said, "you see that it wears on them."
For sure. Silver Charm was passed in the stretch and beaten three-quarters of a length; Real Quiet lost by a nose in the closest of finishes; and War Emblem stumbled at the start and finished seventh.
"I'm not even thinking about it right now," Baffert, 62, said. "I just want to enjoy this win and go to the Preakness and really enjoy it. I'm older. It's much less pressure now."
The 1 3/16-mile Preakness is shaping up as a tough test for American Pharoah on several fronts.
Firing Line and third-place Derby finisher Dortmund are out for payback. A few other Derby runners could show up, along with several new shooters, including one from the stable of Barbaro's owners.
"He's showing us positive vibes since the race," trainer Simon Callaghan said of Firing Line. "He's a horse that just takes these races in stride. I think we have a really good chance of turning the tables."
Baffert, who also trains Dortmund, said he has no qualms about the possibility a horse from his own stable could end his Derby winner's chance to go for the Triple Crown.
"I think he deserves another chance," the trainer said, adding that Dortmund might like the shorter Preakness distance (a 16th-of-a-mile shorter). "In my barn, everyone gets an equal shot."
Baffert planned to be at Churchill Downs today to see his two horses, and said Dortmund would run in the Preakness "as long as he looks good Monday and Tuesday." After watching videos of his two colts jogging Thursday morning, the trainer said, "Pharoah looks great. Dortmund looks good."
And there's this: Could American Pharoah be a bit tuckered out after facing his first stiff challenge in the Derby?
American Pharoah, owned by Ahmed Zayat, had won his previous four races by a combined 22 1/4 lengths, including an 8-length romp in the Arkansas Derby. At Churchill Downs, he struggled somewhat but remained third before jockey Victor Espinoza urged him on coming out of the far turn. He used his whip on the horse a reported 32 times in overtaking Dortmund and Firing Line.
Some have questioned whether Espinoza's use of the whip was excessive. Baffert said the veteran rider was trying to keep American Pharoah focused.
"He was flagging him and hitting him, but he hits him on the saddle towel, and he doesn't really hit that hard," Baffert said during a national conference call this week. "It was to keep him busy. The horse wasn't responding on the turn for home."
Sports on 05/10/2015